Chapter 19: Blood in the Water
Cold raced through Robin's body, as she watched the forms in the waves.
Halos of light outlined the shapes, as glowing patterns raced over their forms and seared into her vision. Robin wanted to shut it out, to clap hands over her eyes and ears… but she couldn't. She was frozen, a discordant melody burrowing into her ears and stilling her body.
"Robin-?" Chrom's voice cut off, spotting the flicker of lights as well. But she doubted he could understand what they were saying, what was getting burned into her mind. Just like with the Mer girl, some part of her recognized the patterns to those lights, saw them form into words.
'Robin.' The lights called, and a haunting cry rose up from the water. The shapes grew more distinct, swimming along the curves of the waves. Each swell drew up closer to shore. 'Robin. Robin.'
"How…" she squeaked out, her throat going dry. "How do they know who I am…?" Chrom froze beside her.
"They know- you can tell what they're saying? What they're singing-?" His question cut out. The waves stole his words and swept up around their knees. The first black shape sliced its way out of the water.
It was Mer. That much was clear from the fins and gills decorating it. Lines of light pulsed along its arms, running in patterns over its chest and through its tail.
'Robin. Come back.' It clawed its way forward on the next wave, which slammed hard into Robin's chest and staggered her. The water was around her waist now.
'You belong here. Come with us. Come back.' More shapes glided out of the depths, twisting their way through the shallows like mist over a lake. The lights on their bodies pulsed, somehow voicelessly echoing the first Mer's words. The glowing patterns danced with a strange mix of pleading and demand.
'You belong with us.'
Those simple words tore the world out from under her feet.
"I-I don't understand." Or maybe she just refused to understand. She couldn't belong with them; not with the air she breathed, the legs she had for walking first, swimming second. "G-go back. Leave me alone!"
She screamed out the last, as the Mer swept over her. Her skin chilled from where their hands clamped around her. With a violent wrench on her arm, the Mer yanked her towards open ocean. She fell to her knees with a splash, the water threatening to engulf her each time she thrashed.
"ROBIN!" Chrom's voice pierced her senses, the only thing grounding her as she was dragged out to sea.
-o-o-o-
The shapes clawed their way onto land with the wash of the waves. Chrom hissed out a curse when he saw them. They were kin to the things that had tried to drown them in Ferox; wild looking, and with a violent light to their eyes.
When he watched them, something froze his limbs. The water leeched away his warmth, leaving him numb.
The invaders paid him no mind, focused entirely on Robin. She was yanked down in a flurry of webbed hands, the Mer calling in more waves to drown the beach and cove.
Patterns glimmered along their bodies, spelling out words that teased the edge of his brain-
And Robin seemed to know more than he did, with the way she screamed answers to those words. Somehow she was able to make sense of the melody, even as she desperately fought against the Mer.
"GO BACK!" She screamed again, and fury shot through his chest. The heat of his anger cut out the water's chill. He surged through the tides, not caring how the waves twisted around him and tried to wrench him off his feet.
'They're not taking her!' His thoughts hissed.
"Not while I draw breath," he snarled the promise out. His fingers went for Falchion-
Only to find an empty space at his side. The call of the waters had been so alluring, that he'd left the sword in his rooms. It may as well have been lost to the bottom of the sea, with all the good that knowledge did him.
Robin gave a strangled noise, thrashing against the webbed fingers. Her eyes were fixed to the Mer's flickering scales, as she murmured something in the back of her throat. Her eyes went wide as she watched the Mer, and she shook her head.
"Stop it-" She choked out. Chrom jolted at the desperation in her voice. Armed or not, he still pushed himself forward, trying to reach her… And found himself fighting the sea the entire way.
The tide seemed to swell with the presence of the Mer, flooding the coastline. Water slammed into Chrom's stomach, switching between pushing and dragging him. The waves were intent on swallowing him up, flooding around his chest.
He scrambled for something, anything, that he could use for a weapon. Spray stung at his eyes, as his hand uselessly splashed through the water. Desperation curled through his fingers as they searched, and he tried to blink his eyes clear. Something thumped against his side, and his fingers snapped around it by reflex. A spar of driftwood rested in his grasp. Just long enough to use as makeshift sword.
It wasn't Falchion, but it was still better than fighting those things empty handed.
"Sword or not," he growled as he braced himself, "You're going to have a hard time of it. Come on!"
He threw himself forward with a shout, his yell echoing off the cliffs. Maybe it was enough to stir the others from their beds, maybe not. Regardless, it shot energy into his own limbs where the sea had tried to numb them.
The sea folk hadn't so much as raised eyes to him. All of their focus still dedicated to Robin. Chrom quickly changed that, crashing shoulder to shoulder into one and knocking them back. He slashed out at another, the motion furious enough that they flinched back and let go of Robin. The next-
The next felt the driftwood crack against their shoulder, before whirling around and catching the stick with a sword. It was sculpted from steel and lined with shellfish, making for a strange, jagged edge. The blade sliced his own makeshift weapon clean through.
Robin threw herself forward then, trying to weave a spell-
A collection of webbed hands snapped around her wrists, arresting the motion. The Mer he'd been fighting dropped its sword to its side, instead snaking its hand out and catching Chrom around the throat.
The Mer plunged his head beneath the waves, his air replaced by water. The cold slap jolted breath out of his mouth, and salt choked him before he snapped his mouth shut.
'Let go!' He wanted to yell, but didn't have the breath in his lungs for that. Bubbles leaked past his teeth, as the sea pressed down on him; strangling him as much as the fingers at his neck.
Chrom struggled against the pressure on his neck and back, but it was like pushing against stone. The effort only made his throat and lungs burn in protest. The Mer's grip was unrelenting.
Chrom's vision grew dim, blackness creeping in on the edges. Through the rippling water he saw the Mer yanking Robin further into the waves.
'I'm terrified that the ocean might try to take you back.' His words echoed, almost mocking him as his breath ran out. The world dimmed around him, until all that was left was a strong humming in his ears-
It was the same song. The same thing he'd heard, all the way up in his bedchambers. He hadn't tried to fight it, then. And struggling wasn't doing anything for him now.
'Maybe...' It was a desperate thought, as his head throbbed from the lack of air. 'Maybe you heard it for a reason.'
Chrom let himself go slack, let the wave song surround him and shut everything else out.
-o-o-o-
Robin screamed when they shoved Chrom's head underwater. She watched bubbles escape from his mouth as he forgot to hold his breath. He fought violently against the Mer, surging left and right as the water leeched air from his lungs. But not able to break free, anymore than she could-
Until he slumped forward, motionless. Robin's heart sank with him.
'Oh gods no, not him- not like this!'
The song of the Mer and waves screamed in her ears.
"S-stop it-" Robin gasped, though neither the sound nor the Mer lessened their grip. Chrom's form was still, the last traces of fight vanishing from his limbs.
"Stop it…" she growled again, the waves washing around her. When she thrashed again, one of the Mer's talons drew blood along her arms. The red liquid turned cloudy when it mixed into the sea.
"STOP!" Robin screamed at the top of her lungs. The world around her seemed to ripple from her voice. The Mer shuddered where they held her, their grip going slack for an instant.
And the same happened to Chrom's captors.
An instant was all she needed. She slipped free, letting a few more scratches cross her skin before she dove into the waves and shot towards Chrom.
-o-o-o-
'Child of Naga,'
Chrom swore he heard something. Maybe it was the lack of oxygen burning through his brain… But the voice didn't stop, and continued to whisper to him.
'Kin of my kin... I sense you. I feel your desperation as my own.'
For a moment the stranglehold on his chest and head relented. Strength flooded his limbs, as did clarity; it was almost as if he had reserves of air left undiscovered in his lungs. The melody swam in his ears, and with it flashed an impression of silver scales that turned to blue.
'Swim.'
The thought burned through him with the force of a command. He didn't struggle against his captors with his arms or back this time. Instead he lashed out with his legs. Lack of air should have made him weak, but instead they struck out with enough force to kick the Mer off him. His heels dug square into their gut, driving them back. The Mer let go of his arms, wrenched backwards. His head burst above the water, slamming into the Mer's chin. Chom ignored the sharp jab, focused on drawing breath.
"ROBIN!"
His two goals were breathing, and finding where they'd taken her. His eyes scanned the dark waves for a flash of white… And found it, cutting towards him. Like a star, Robin shone against the night-black waves. She'd torn free from her own captors, and was pushing towards him. Her eyes were wide with worry, and she fought the tides inch by inch.
Fighting for him, and towards him.
As soon as she caught his gaze, she surged forward and splashed to his side.
Chrom smiled as she got close, strength leaking out of his body and replaced with relief. And just like that, his legs decided that was as good a time as any to give out.
-o-o-o-
"Chrom?" She cautiously rested a hand on his back as he coughed for breath. But he WAS breathing.
"Oh thank the gods… I was terrified you-"
"I guess they took the threat 'not while I draw breath' a bit seriously.'" Chrom choked on his chuckle, spitting up a bit more saltwater. Robin huffed at that weak attempt at humor. Warmth touched her fingers, and she realized with a start that Chrom was bleeding too. His wounds didn't slow him however, which was a good thing; they'd gone from kneeling in the waves to free floating.
The Mer, while dazed, had circled around them, forming a wall between them and the palace. No help was coming from the interior, no matter how she had screamed and cried out.
"We need to get out of here; we can't fight these things, and we can't count on another lucky break." Though where they could run, she didn't know-
"I-I can hear…" something moved Chrom's feet, and called him forward. But he paused to look at her one more time.
'We can't try rushing them, and we can't get past them. There's only one place to go.' Robin managed a nod.
Together they plunged forward, into the tide.
Chrom let the next wave completely wash over him. Robin followed, sinking beneath the waves. Beyond the roar of ocean in her ears was a strain of melody, stronger than ever.
The way Chrom froze, it was clear he heard it too. But the next moment he kicked out, and she quickly followed. They only had a lunge between them and the Merfolk. By all odds, the Mer should have closed with them. But instead...
Instead something in the current had ensnared them. It left their opponents fighting the very waves that carried Chrom and herself. Her limbs were equal to any tail the Mer sported, sending her skimming through the sea.
Some of the terror melted away as they swam. A part of her felt like she was in her element… But the rest of her didn't want to believe it. Didn't want to think those creatures, half feral and savage, could be right.
'I don't belong with them. Doesn't matter how well I swim or read the ocean; I don't breath water.' To back it up, her lungs were starting to strain, demanding a clean lungful of air.
In response the water lifted her up, forming into a great wave that washed over the rocks and took her with it. The tide deposited her on one of the flat stones before retreating. The lift of the water was replaced with the hard press of stone, and Robin blinked around.
No Mer lunged up onto the rocks after them. They'd slipped out of the sight of any pursuit.
Robin chanced a look over the edge, and instantly regretted it. Her vision swam when she saw how far the surf crashed below the rocks. Nothing had any business being this high up on the sea cliffs, least of all THEM.
Her hands gripped the side of the rocks, reminding her this was solid ground. The Mer couldn't reach them this far up, even if any DID manage to find them. She wasn't going to fall in unless she decided to do so.
Or if another rogue wave washed over them. Robin tried to turn her thoughts from that, focusing instead on finding her feet. And figuring out-
"Where did we end up?" Chrom murmured, brushing against her and putting a voice to her question. He was just as confused as she was, disoriented from the push of the currents. He hadn't tried to stand yet, and had only gotten as far as working his way onto his arms.
He stared around, trying to get his bearings. He must have seen the ramparts of Ylisse's castle at the same time Robin did. The white walls were a little off to their left, and the sea on their right. They'd swum well away from the beach; all the way to the sea cliffs that ringed the capital.
"Ah-!" Chrom winced, his hand snatching up to his neck.
"Are you okay?" Robin asked.
"I-I think so. My neck stung- I think that those things got a few swipes in." He rubbed at his neck… though Robin couldn't help but notice that his fingers came away clean. She couldn't pick out any noticeable cuts on his neck-
'Later. Dwell on it later.'
There was more here than just a deserted strand of rocks. A cave glimmered, casting wane blue light on the stone below. The jagged earth formed a strange barrier and camouflage around it. If they hadn't been washed up on the shore, almost at the doorstep of the cave, they'd never have a hope of seeing it.
"It's shelter." Robin found herself saying. She reached a hand to Chrom, and he curled his fingers around hers. Robin drew strength from his touch. "And a hiding place from those things… Not that I'm saying we should stay here forever. But we need to get our bearings."
"Only for a moment." Chrom told her. "I'm worried about Emmeryn, and the others as well. And what those things could do…"
But for all his protests, he trailed off, looking at the cavern. His steps drew him towards the entrance.
"But… I swear there's something there. Something that's almost… calling me."
They half stumbled, half tripped their way in. Robin scanned the cave for ambush, but instead found her breath taken away by what was inside. Traces of seawater settled on the floor in glimmering pools. The stone inside had been polished to perfect smoothness, condensation giving the rocks a mirror-like reflection.
Something was coiled in the center, so blindingly bright Robin couldn't bear to look directly at it. An ache built in the back of her head, and a strange raw feeling scrapped at her heart. Like both had suddenly become aware of the emptiness in them.
Tears pricked at the edges of her eyes, making the shape before them blur.
"Child of Naga, kindred of the waves."
Chrom sucked his breath in. "I... I know that- I heard that voice. I heard it when the Mer first attacked."
The silvery light dimmed in response to his voice. The form behind it looked almost like a Mer, but rested languidly on the stones. Her tail was covered with crystal, silver scales, tinged with soft sea greens.
Despite the finned tail and resemblance, an odd sense of peace settled over Robin as she watched. Peace, and a feeling of familiarity.
"A sea dragon?" Chrom asked. The creature gave them a sleepy blink, her eyes blurring. Her neck muscles didn't seem all the way woken up, with how she listed. But she still managed a nod.
"My name is Tiki," she provided, trying to work the drowsiness out of her voice.
"Wait… The same Tiki from the songs?" Chrom seemed to recognize her as well.
"That must have been why I recognized your voice! I-it had to be you that I heard… But what on earth is a sea dragon doing beneath Ylisse?" Chrom asked. He kept his eyes shielded, blinking as though he couldn't quite believe what he'd seen.
"This is Ylisse? I didn't expect to be woken here…" Tiki glanced about, before finding their cuts. The blood in their wounds seemed particularly brilliant against the bleached background of the cave. "But now I see why. Your blood mingled with the ocean, and called me to this place in my sleep."
"S-sleep? How can you move through the waves when you sleep?"
"Magic." Robin answered, almost automatically.
"Yes. The world's hold becomes less solid when I sleep, and it's easy for me to drift from place to place. I rest in each cove, to regain my magic before I go drifting among the currents. And now I was called here, by you." A glowing hand pointed to both of them. "I heard your cries... Tasted the tribute of blood you put into the ocean."
"Wait…" Robin's scratches stung in the air, now that he skin was drying. "…All those times we had blood mingle with seawater… Was there some sort of magic there?"
Tiki nodded, her bearing growing solemn.
"As much as there is bound to books, waiting for the right incantation to set the spells free. Perhaps even a bit more, considering how much power is sealed beneath the waters. Then there's what you carry in your blood… But I knew of that, ever since we first met." Tiki blinked open green eyes from the mass of silver, leveling them at Robin.
Confusion jolted through her chest, as Tiki looked at her; the sea dragon belonged in the stories about Ylisse. Chrom had said as much. So why did those green eyes seem so familiar-?
"And now you return."
In answer to those words, her head fought between splitting open and going blank. A weakness tried to seize hold of her knees, and her eyes slid shut.
"R-return? I-I don't understand..."
"You know Robin!?" Chrom blurted out. "H-How? And why doesn't she recognize you?"
"You don't remember." The voice replied, in a tone that suggested it should have known better. "You haven't been able to recall enough."
The ground felt a little less solid under her feet, the more she listened to Tiki. Robin forced herself to take a deep breath, and find some sort of balance.
"Who... are you? How do you know me?" Robin's voice grew desperate. She blinked her eyes back open. The white gleam had lessened, and seemed to be turning into a more human shape. Green hair, the same color as those eyes, swayed lightly in the faint breeze that stirred in the cave, framing a porcelain face.
"We've met before, though you don't remember. We struck a bargain... I should have known then that the cost would have been dear." Regret colored the voice.
"J-just why did I need to strike a bargain? And what was the cost?" She tried to focus on the conversation, and not the millions of questions clamoring in her head, all desperate to be let out at once.
'One thing at a time.'
"You wished to escape a cruel fate…" Her mind revisited one of the visions; of falling through a tunnel, and a brilliant blue light. The voice that accompanied it had the same voice as the sea dragon. "And the cost to break all of your ties was-"
"M-my memory..." Tears ran down her face, and the ache in her heart threatened to consume her alive. And she didn't even understand WHY. Nothing about tonight made sense; she felt adrift, and like anymore words would dissolve the home she'd made.
"But... why?" Chrom's voice pierced the fog. "What would drive her to do that and..."
"I cannot say that; look at her now. The shock of learning everything would risk tearing her psyche open." At the moment, Robin believed it.
'But I don't have to like it. There has to be SOMETHING here that makes sense.'
Her hands went to her neck. They clasped the compass and it turned almost silver in the ambient light.
She held it up for the dragon to see.
"Do you recognize this too? Can you at least tell me what THIS is?" Robin whispered, eyes still downcast.
"…Please." Chrom added, desperate for her sake.
The glowing presence lifted its gaze, and the compass shone a little brighter from her focus.
"Mer scoured that talisman from an ancient ruin. They searched tirelessly for it, until a woman with keen sight equal to yours delivered it to Plegia's king. You liberated it from him, in your quest to escape his grasp… And came to me. I agreed to use the magic in that," she nodded to the compass, "to help you flee."
'Plegia's king?' Her knees gave out all the way. Chrom barely managed to catch her as he swept an arm around her waist.
"Easy, Robin. It's going to be okay-" She had her doubts, considering how much her world was in a roil. Her fears all surged up again, remembering the song she'd shared with Gangrel's sea witch.
"I… I'm of Plegia. Doesn't that mean anything...?" Robin cried, her voice ready to break. In answer Chrom shook his head, squeezing at her to try and prove the point. His bangs brushed at her eyelashes.
Tiki made a small 'hmm' as she watched them.
"I can at least remind you of this; I told you before I worked the spell, that you needed to find someone of equal strength for your heart… and it seems you've done that." A touch of satisfaction worked into the voice, and Robin felt a twinge of heat on her face. "And this bond you share… it may be dangerous. Or it may be your ultimate salvation. Even though neither of you have awakened fully, or remembered everything yet. But despite that, you've still accomplished much."
She didn't want to dwell on the silence flooding the room. Thankfully, neither did Chrom.
"Wait. You're a sea dragon… You're tied to the ocean aren't you? And you know its share of secrets." The Chrom took a half step towards her, his forehead furrowed and tugging Robin with him. "Then… Forgive me for asking, after you've done so much for Robin. But do you know why the seas are acting in such a way?"
"Grima stirs beneath the waves, straining against the seal. The balance cannot hold against such a god." She almost expected Chrom to deny it. Instead he stared at the dragon.
"Just like in my dream…"
"You are Tide Touched, prince. You should learn to trust in your visions." The dragon motioned to his hair. "And it seems the lighthouses have left their touch on both you and Robin as well. I can see traces of their light on you."
"So there was something important to the lighthouses?" Robin asked.
The dragon gave her a sad look.
"They were used as rituals to shield and seal the oceans in the past. You once knew this…"
A sound echoed across the waves, of shapes thrashing in the water. Thin cries came with them.
"I know you have more questions, but there are Mer upon your doorstep." Chrom spun around at her words, going a shade pale enough to match the dragon's scales.
"Drown me-" Chrom cursed.
"Peace, prince. I can help, and send you off with a boon… Though I regret I need something from you, in exchange."
"Wh-what?" Chrom gave her a desperate look.
"I ask that you keep me a secret. And sing me back to sleep."
-o-o-o-
"W-wait… you want us to… SING? Now?" He was staring, Chrom knew. He didn't bother to hide the disbelief and confusion in his voice. "F-first off, I wouldn't inflict my singing voice on ANYONE, and second isn't there more pressing matters…?"
He trailed off when those green eyes settled fully on him.
"I heard your voice on the currents, and the power in it." Held under her gaze, Chrom couldn't argue.
"…I have a hard time believing this… but we need help," Chrom sighed out. Robin nodded, brushing her hand up next to his arm. The touch was gentle, trying to reassure him.
"I must take my leave for now, but I will promise you one more boon; when your quest is finished. But first…" She nodded to them, waiting for them to begin.
He remembered the melody of the lighthouse, and slipped into that. He didn't sing in words, instead letting the raw power of his voice fill the cave. The song had turned familiar after two visits, and he settled into it. A soft harmony teased his hearing, and he knew that Robin had joined in.
For a moment, he forgot about the battle, about his near drowning, and how he'd almost lost Robin. All the pain and terror faded from his heart. Only the song remained. He cared only about that, and matching his voice to Robin, until the last note faded from the cave.
Chrom found himself opening his eyes, not even realizing that they'd closed.
The presence had vanished.
As did the chamber. The compass at Robin's neck gleamed silver, illuminating the waves around them with their own sphere of moonlight. The current tugged them along, surprisingly gentle.
It didn't match the Mer, cutting through the waves towards them. A hunting cry rose from their throats, and they seemed to call waves to carry them forward. Chrom stiffened, as they cut forward and kept their eyes on Robin. Her pale hair was like a lantern, as was the silver glow of her compass. He felt bare and vulnerable without his weapon; no chance of fighting when the Mer closed. He tensed, ready to throw himself through the waves.
'But can you hope to outswim them?' His thoughts asked. 'Even with a current in your favor-?'
The waves remained oddly gentle around him, the water almost like glass… And it was a sharp contrast to the waters the Mer swam in. The waves shifted, suddenly pushing against the Mer, as the waves turned turbulent. Even the Mer's fish tails and fins struggled against the current. From their own placid spot on the water, Chrom watched the current catch the Mer in its teeth, the waves snatching them up and dashing them against the rocks with a cruel crackling noise-
Chrom looked away, his blood going cold at the sight. The waves whispered and teased at his senses, drowning out the sick feeling in his stomach.
'Valm.' The currents sighed, echoing with Tiki's voice. 'Seek Valm.'
"I… I don't understand." Chrom whispered.
"Neither do I… But right now, we have more urgent things to focus on." Robin said. Over the sigh of the waves, came the crash of battle; it echoed the Feroxi arena, the ring of swords, desperate shouted orders, and a chilling hint of song. A reminder that Ylisstol castle was still under siege, attacked by the ocean itself.